Chapter Text

Chapter 1 – The Selwyn Estate

Hermione Granger adjusted her glasses that were set askew from the portkey travel, the cold, misty morning wrapping around her like a thin cloak. She tugged her robes tighter and glanced up at the sprawling Selwyn estate, all gables, ivy, and carefully curated mystery.

The front doors stood wide, eerily inviting. The air smelled faintly of perfume and… something else. Something ironed and coppery that made her stomach clench.

“Granger, over here,” a voice called, smooth and calm. Hermione looked up to see Draco Malfoy descending the front steps as though he owned the place. Of course, he looked like that everywhere he went.

“Malfoy,” she said flatly. “I don’t need your to charm at this scene, don't you have paperwork or something to catch up on.”

“Ah, but you do,” he replied, flashing that sharp, superior smile that had haunted her since Hogwarts. “This charm is the only thing getting us any information.”

She crossed her arms, scowling. “I’m here to solve a murder, not make friends.”

“And that's exactly why I’m here,” he said, twirling his wand. “Someone has to get them to talk.”

Hermione’s quill scratched across her notebook as she surveyed the scene: three bodies, perfectly still, hovering just above the blood soaked floor in stasis charm. Wards were intact. No forced entry. Whoever had done this had slipped past defenses that would have tripped even an experienced Auror.

“This isn’t a wild attack,” Hermione murmured, almost to herself. “This is someone who has intimate knowledge of the family and their magical safety wards.”

Malfoy arched a brow. “Ministry-trained. I’d bet a Galleon on it. You still have war contacts right Granger?”

She shot him a sharp look. “You’re insufferable.”

“And you,” he said, tilting his head, “are exhausting?”

Hermione didn’t have time to respond. Bethany, an elderly Selwyn cousin and next of kin, emerged from the shadows of the drawing room, pale and twitchy. Her eyes flicked to Malfoy, and then Hermione with barely concealed fear.

“I… I’ve said all I have to say to you,” Bethany said, voice quivering. “I won't let you probe any further into our lives, Miss Granger. Not after the war. Not about this.”

Malfoy gave her a look somewhere between triumph and pity. “See?” he said softly. “I’m your in.”

Hermione exhaled and muttered under her breath, “Merlin help me.”

Malfoy stepped forward conjuring a tea pot and cups on the sitting room table and gestured for Bethany to sit. Wearily eyeing Hermione, Bethany accepted the tea with trembling hands.

"Mrs. Selwyn, I know this has been an incredibly exhausting ordeal, but it would mean so much if you would recount the details just one more time for Agent Granger and I." Draco flashed a white smile at Bethany. Hermione had to admit, he was incredibly charismatic, if you could get past the suffocating ego. Hermione listened intently and jotted down every detail—the color of the tea, the tremor in her hand, the slight curl of the lip when Draco asked about ward strengths. Anything could be relevant.

After 2 hours of interrogation it seemed like Malfoy had coaxed every bit of information out of Bethany Selwyn as they were going to get. The cool morning had turned into a balmy afternoon which fit the Selwyn estate quite nicely. Hermione took a deep breath in. Malfoy felt it would be best if Hermione was not present when he asked Mrs. Selwyn if they could bring their team of investigators to the scene. Despite no longer casting dirty looks her way, she didn't seem particularly high on Mrs. Selwyn's list. A rustle and the click of the door latch announced Malfoy's presence but Hermione did not turn to face him. 

"Well, she was reluctant but eventually agreed to 1 hour. You'd best send word to Shacklebolt." Malfoy moved gracefully down the steps and toward the garden before Hermione could tell him to do it himself. She always ended up sending word like she was his personal assistant and not lead on this case. But time was of the essence and she didn't have time arguing with the immovable stone wall that was Draco Malfoy. She sent her silvery shining otter off to deliver the news that for one measly hour the ministry would be allowed in to fully investigate the grounds. A team was already standing by waiting for their word, so after about 15 minutes the grounds were a bustle with aurors and processing techs. After assembling teams and giving directives, Hermione returned back to the bodies to continue her own investigation. Malfoy was off Merlin knows where, so it seems it would be up to her to assess the evidence gathered. She was testing the strength of the stasis charms when in the periphery of her vision, a familiar mop of red hair appeared at the edge of the room. Ron Weasley. Standing there, looking concerned, weary, and faintly judgmental.  

Hermione blinked and forced herself not to acknowledge him. He could be helpful, sure. He could also be… a distraction. And right now, she didn’t have the luxury. Why did he look so sour anyway. 

"Interesting that they left a mess." Malfoy said right next to her ear causing her to leap out of her skin. "Jumpy as a doe." he said teasingly. 

"Malfoy, if there weren't so many witnesses there would be the fourth body floating here." She tried to keep the fluster out of her voice. Tried, and failed. Malfoy chuckled from farther behind her now. 

"Yes, yes, I'm shaking. Back to my point though, why leave the blood? Why have blood in the first place?" Draco said as he crouched next to the body of Psyche Selwyn whose face was permanently twisted in agony. Hermione tried again at the stasis charm but again was not able to find it's breaking point.

"The intensity of the stasis charm suggests the killer is sadistic, wanting to draw out the murders as long as possible, and for that you need compliant subjects." That coppery scent was threatening to bring bile up Hermione's throat. "They'll have gathered all the evidence and transported it back to head office." She said rising from where she was squatting. Hermione didn't look back at the bodies, or Malfoy, before apparating away. 

Back at the Ministry, Hermione spread parchment across her desk. Curse tracings, timelines, maps of the Selwyn estate. This case was pivotal for her career, and who better to throw her off her game than Draco Malfoy. He sucked all the air out of a room making it impossible for her to think sometimes, strutting around with his insufferable ego like he knew better than her. While it's true, she had run into wall after wall with the Selwyn's refusing to speak to her, he didn't have to be so damn smug about getting through to them. Hermione snorted. She didn’t like him. Not at all. And yet, as she traced the patterns left in the wards, she had the uneasy feeling that this was far from over. The insurmountable evidence of this case pointed towards someone on a mission, not a single offender. Something Malfoy had said kept ringing in her ears. The killer might have been ministry trained. She recognized the curse patterns weaved into the stasis charm which is what made it so incredibly strong. It had taken 4 trained spell breakers 6 hours to break just one of the charms. The pattern was clean and precise, something that would've taken years of training and use. Hermione sighed as she stood up to gather her things. It was late and she needed a good nights sleep for a fresh start tomorrow. She glanced at Malfoy's desk on her way out where he was hunched over a spread of parchment of his own, likely coming to the same conclusions. Sometimes she wished they could work like normal partners, swapping notes and brainstorming, but that just wasn't a possibility. They were too different.

Draco rubbed his eyes. What time was it? He'd been staring at the images of the crime scene for what felt like ages and he was still no closer to understanding why these wounds, and why the mess? He'd seen his fair share of murder and torture since Lord Voldemort had made his home at Malfoy Manor near the end of the war, but that was all done by magic. Could this be the work of someone with no magic? Or just made to seem that way? Answers eluded him. The screech of the legs of Granger's chair on the floor made his head jerk upright before returning to his work. She'd stayed late, but she always stayed late. He knew she didn't like him, and he didn't know why tormenting her still brought him so much joy. At first he was reluctant to accept this case as her partner, but after seeing how furious she was when he dismissed her from the Selwyn sitting room he knew he'd made the right choice. Hermione Granger climbed the ranks almost as fast as he had, working overtime to prove her ambition was something he could relate to, and in turn, compete with. Although he had no desire to rise to Head Auror, making her life hell while she sought after it was a sweet enough prize. He could hear the swish of her robes as she turned to leave for the night and figured he should do the same. If the killer could sleep, Draco would need his rest as well.

Hermione and Draco both tossed and turned, desperately trying to find sleep, hoping to crack this case before anymore lives were lost. What they didn't know was somewhere in the shadows, it was already decided.

The next family would fall. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 – Patterns in Blood

She used to love the rain, the way it seemed to make the world around her glisten with glittery renewal. Now all she saw was cold, dull, bleakness. Maybe it was the job, or the war, but Hermione longed for that magic back. When she closed her eyes, she could almost grasp it before it slipped through her fingers. The high pitch whistle of her kettle broke Hermione from her trance. She fell asleep at a decent time and woke up to her 6am alarm but didn't feel rested. The tea warmed her as the took a sip and looked out her window.  She dressed quickly and gave Crookshanks a quick pat before stepping out into the sprinkling rain. The nearest floo into the ministry was a wizard post office, about a 10 minute walk from her cottage. She could have her fireplace tied to the floo system but she liked the walk, it helped clear her head before and after work. She takes care to alter her route slightly as to not become predictable, stopping at a bakery today for a croissant before making her way to the post office. Ned Hobbs looked up from the tawny owl he was tending as Hermione stepped through the door. 

"Good morning Ms. Granger!" Ned said setting the owl down on the window sill.

"Good morning Ned, how are the owls this morning?" Hermione smiled back and stepped toward the fireplace. She reached up for the floo powder only to scrape the bottom of the empty pot. "Oh the floo is out again." 

"My apologies Ms. Granger let me grab more." He said busing himself with the floo pot. "Say I read in the papers there was a murder, had your name in the article." Hermione sighed. Ned always wanted details on cases in the news. He wrote a true crime panel in the Quibbler in his free time. 

"Ned don't start you know I can't share details." She said. Ned replaced the pot on the mantel. 

"Ah I know, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble anyway. I'm just curious. The Selwyn's though, they were a rich lot weren't they?" Hermione took a fist full of powder.

"Goodbye Ned." She smiled as she stepped into the flames. "Ministry of Magic." She felt the tingle of the floo warm her before the rush of travel. 

Draco heard her before he saw her. The click of her boots on the tile as Hermione Granger struts to her desk each morning at precisely 8am comes like clock work. Its Thursday which means a croissant. Could she be any more predictable. As she passes his desk he catches a whiff of her strawberry shampoo and scoffs. Even that hasn't changed in the years he's worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He started gathering his notes to prepare for the morning briefing with Shacklebolt. The Selwyns had been a powerful family once. Old money, old magic. Now their grand manor was nothing but a mausoleum, its walls whispering with secrets that could not protect their masters. He looked down at his mug. Empty. He sighed and stood, stretching and grabbed his empty coffee mug.

"Another coffee already?" Granger says looking at her watch. "You're 6 minutes early." She says smirking. Draco rolled his eyes and put his mug back on his desk and strode over to Granger's. 

She was studying the crime scene photos intently, eyes darting over every detail. A husband, wife, and daughter, all arranged neatly on the drawing room carpet. Not tortured. Not disfigured. and yet the scene felt barbaric.

“What do you see?” Draco asked from behind her, voice low.

“Precision,” Granger said, her quill scratching furiously across her parchment. “Whoever did this immobilized them in seconds. No signs of a struggle. No broken wards. No Unforgivables.”

Draco leaned over, his face was level with hers as he examined the pale faces. “A targeted strike. Not for money. Not for chaos. For message.”

Granger nodded. “But what message? And why them?”

She moved a bag with the remnants of the smashed tea cups found at the scene to the center of her pile. "Wait." She said pulling her wand out, tip glowing faintly as she whispered "Revelio." A shimmer of pale green light revealed the faint traces of an enchantment that had been layered across the shards of porcelain. Subtle. Almost elegant.

Draco whistled. “That’s not beginner’s work.”

Granger bit her lip. “But what is it?” He shrugged. 

"Not sure. The way its intricately laced together suggests a curse, but there was no indication the Selwyn's were cursed." Malfoy traced the remains of a handle.

"I'll send it to be examined by the Curse-Breakers." Granger says summoning a paper courier bird which flitted away, evidence bag in beak. "Come on, Shacklbolt will be waiting." She says and gathered her notes. 

"Fine I'll meet you in there." Draco said grabbing his notes and his empty mug. Granger scoffs. 

"Predictable." She mumbles under her breath, and smirks as she catches a glimpse of Malfoy slack jawed and headed for Kingsley's office. 

Chapter Text

Department of Magical Law Enforcement – Selwyn Crime Scene Report

Case File No.: DMLE/12405-SIG
Date/Time: 12 April, 2005, 17:45
Location: Selwyn Estate, Wiltshire
Reporting Officer: Hermione J. Granger
Secondary Investigator: Draco L. Malfoy

On April 12, 2005, at approximately 17:45, Seletha Selwyn returned home from visiting her sister to find Sevanus Selwyn, male, 58, Leviana Selwyn, female, 54, and Cadenia Selwyn, female, 19, suspended under a stasis charm hovering over the blood-soaked carpet in the main drawing room. Seletha contacted The Department of Magical Law Enforcement at 18:00. Senior Investigator Hermione J. Granger arrived on scene at 18:15 however Seletha was unwilling to cooperate with SI Granger's interrogation. Preliminary investigation and crime scene processing was completed at 21:35. SI Granger and Senior Investigator Draco L Malfoy returned on April 13, 2005 at 09:00 to conduct a more thorough investigation. Seletha was more compliant speaking with SI Malfoy and stated that she returned home from visiting her sister, the blood wards surrounding the estate were intact and nothing in the home seemed to be disturbed. She expected to come home to her cousin and his family having dinner in the dining room but after discovering the dining room empty and their house elves Tilly and Scroll gone she went to the drawing room and discovered the bodies suspended above the blood soaked carpet in the drawing room. She found 3 sets of tea cup smashed to pieces and then piled into 3 neat piles on the table and the tea cart undisturbed right next to it. She was unaware of any enemies to her cousin besides people begrudged from the war but could not think of anyone specific. The Selwyn's had no other visitors or staff that Seletha knew of in the last week. No others lived at the estate. Seletha originally agreed to 1 hour for a team of investigators to process the scene, however upon arrival Seletha was overwhelmed and left the scene with the instructions that the team was to have vacated her property by the time she returned at 20:00. Scene cleared at approximately 19:00.

Case Observations

Initial investigation shows no evidence of forced entry or breached wards. Estate protections intact at time of discovery.

Victims were arranged parallel to each other hovering over the main drawing room carpet. No visible signs of struggle.

Awaiting cause of death confirmation. No external injuries or curses visible.

Detectable traces of green luminescent spell work along shards of tea cups found at the scene consistent with intricate curse work. Submitted evidence for curse evaluation. 

Tea cups found shattered and left in 3 neat piles on the drawing room table. Potion analysis revealed no traces of any poison or sedatives.

Time of death is approximated at 14:10–14:15 

Notable Evidence

• Cause of death was not caused by any magical means that could be identified
• No evidence of theft or destruction of property outside shattered tea cups
• Faint traces of intricate spell work on remains of tea cups
• Blood in the carpet found under the bodies confirmed to be from the 3 victims, however no wounds were present 

Preliminary Analysis

Attacker subdued victims rapidly with no indication of resistance.

High skill level, spells cast efficiently and without signature flourish. Suggests formal training.

No theft or vandalism. Motive not immediately apparent.

High risk level. Suspect remains at large with ability to bypass established blood wards.

Recommendations

• Cross-reference curse spell work strands of Selwyn tea set with Ministry records.

• Locate and interview the 2 house elves assigned to the Selwyn estate

• Increase patrol presence at other affluent family estates.

Filed by:
Hermione J. Granger, Senior Investigator, DMLE
Secondary Signature:
Draco L. Malfoy, Senior Investigator, DMLE

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 – Cool Fractures

The briefing room was already half full when Hermione slid into her chair, parchment neatly stacked in front of her. The familiar hum of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement buzzed faintly through the closed doors: quills scratching, memos fluttering, footsteps echoing on stone. She excelled at this part of the job. No doubt she was a brilliant investigator, but she really came out to shine when she got the chance to lead her team through the next steps. She was able to utilize the strengths of everyone around her which is really what set her apart as a leader. When she first started at the DMLE she had a thirst to prove herself, but it only took a month to realize she wanted to be at the top. Kingsley wouldn't be around forever and she wanted to set herself up as a shoo in for the department head position when the time came. Hermione didn't let her ambition blind her though, she knew if there was anything that stood in the way of her indisputable promotion it was Draco Malfoy. It seemed every time she turned around he was there, sometimes even one step ahead as much as that pained her to admit. Even now in the briefing room the strong aroma of his oak cologne muddled her brain. She looked across the table where Malfoy lounged in his chair, quill twirling between his fingers as though he had no care in the world. But she knew him well enough by now to see the tension in the set of his jaw, he was as frustrated as she was. No solid leads, very limited evidence, and questionable crime scene integrity. It was a mess. She didn't even notice when Shacklebolt stood at the head of the long oak table, broad-shouldered and impossibly calm as ever, eyes scanning the room.  

“All right,” Kingsley began, his deep voice making Hermione jump. “The Selwyn case. What do we have?”

Hermione cleared her throat and slid a set of photographs across the table. Malfoy bumped the table just as Hermione reached for her wand, causing it to roll to the floor. She shot him a heated look as she bent down to pick it up raising it to magically enlarge the crime scene photos only to find them enlarged, floating around the table. Malfoy smirked at her, putting his own wand away. Hermione cleared her throat again. “The victims were immobilized almost instantly. Wards remained intact. No signs of forced entry or Unforgivable curses. Evidence, though significantly lacking, suggests highly skilled spellwork, likely layered enchantments meant to conceal magical residue. The way the bodies are displayed suggests this is a message killing.”

Kingsley nodded slowly. “Message killing?”

“Possibly,” Draco cut in, his voice sharper than usual. “Too neat for chaos. Too deliberate for robbery. Someone wanted the Ministry to see this.”

Hermione glanced at him, surprised. Their analysis aligned more often than she liked to admit.

Kingsley steepled his fingers. “Then our killer is methodical and disciplined. That narrows the field, but not by much. Continue gathering intelligence from the Curse-Breakers. I want every ounce of residue analyzed for anything we might have missed, every potion traced. We can’t afford—”

A light rap on the door cut Kingsley short. A young Auror, pale and breathless, stood in the frame. “Minister, there's been another attack. Wiltshire. The Nott residence.”

For a moment, silence held the room like a spell. Then Malfoy’s chair scraped back.

“The Notts?” Malfoy's voice was low, dangerous.

The Auror swallowed. “Yes, sir. Reports of multiple casualties. We’re securing the scene now. Mr. Nott and his son were found by the Nott's house elf.”

Hermione’s heart dropped. Theodore Nott. She remembered him from Hogwarts, quiet, clever, always with a shadow in his eyes. She turned, watching Draco’s face harden into marble.

“Malfoy,” Kingsley said, his voice level, “Take Granger and I expect your personal ties not to compromise the investigation.”

Draco’s fists clenched at his sides. “They won’t.”

Hermione hesitated before speaking, her voice softer than usual. “Maybe you should sit this one out, Malfoy. It’s too close. We can’t afford mistakes. The house elf will talk to me, there won't be an issue with communication and-” She knew she'd said the wrong thing as soon as Malfoy spun to face her.

“And what—just leave it to you? While Theo lies dead in his own home? Not bloody likely.” He said, grey eyes blazing. Just leave it to her? Like she wasn't one of the most capable investigators in the department? She could feel her face growing hot. 

Their eyes locked across the table, tension crackling like static in the air. Kingsley raised a hand before either could speak again.

“You’ll both go,” he said firmly. “Together. And you’ll remember your duty to the Ministry, and to the victims. Is that clear?”

Hermione swallowed and nodded. Draco didn’t move, his jaw tight, but after a moment he gave a single sharp nod.

“Then go,” Kingsley said. “And be prepared. Whoever is behind this isn’t slowing down.”

Hermione gathered her notes, but her hands trembled faintly. The Selwyns had been brutal. This… this was personal.

And for the first time, she wondered if Draco Malfoy’s cold composure might shatter under the weight of it.

Draco stepped quickly across the lawn once the blood wards were disabled. The house looked exactly like he remembered it, after all, he had been here earlier that week for quidditch and drinks. He tried not to think of his friend's bright face as he approached the door. He was vaguely aware of a persistent whining behind him but ignored it as he pushed through the main doors and into the foyer. Crime scene techs made a path to the main study but Draco still made a point to shoulder some poor sap on his way past. Rage seemed to roil inside him as he opened the doors to the study, but his anger quickly stilled into icy cold panic at the sight before him. Blood covered every inch of the tile floor, piles of shattered porcelain lay on the desk, the chair behind it knocked over. There was something missing. He turned to yell out into the foyer when Granger finally caught up to him. "Where the hell are the bodies they shouldn't have moved anything until we got here to investigate first I-" He stopped mid sentence when he saw how pale Granger's face had gone. 

"Oh god Malfoy look-" Granger raised a shaking hand to point back into the room. Draco followed her finger up to the ceiling and froze. In his haste he came in and immediately tunneled in on the similarities to the last murders that he completely missed the big, blaring difference. The face of his friend staring down at him from above, he and his father suspended upside down hovering inches from the 20 ft vaulted ceiling. Draco waived his wand and pointed it at the bodies, guiding them down from the ceiling. He looked into Theo's unseeing eyes and his stomach tied in a knot. He grabbed hold of his hand bringing it up to his lips as he closed the eyes of his friend, never to be opened again. Never to be filled with laughter or light. Draco recalled the last time he'd seen Theo, just earlier this week. He was so full of life on the quidditch pitch, and laughing over drinks with Blaise and Draco. It had seemed like at least for that moment, all the darkness in the world faded away. He let his thumb graze over Theo's knuckles when he realized someting.

"Granger check Mr. Nott's right hand." Draco said turning over Theo's hand. "Theo's signet ring is gone." 

"Theodore Sr's is missing as well." Granger said looking up at him. "That's new, the Selwyn's all had their signet rings." Draco could feel a lump forming in his throat. This was not the time. He needed to get away from this, away from her now. He turned on his heel and walked out without even seeing Granger reach towards him. He made his way out to the ward lines and began busying himself with diagnostic charms to test the integrity of the wards. Completely intact. Draco didn't know much about the Selwyn's, they didn't mingle with the higher crowd of elites, so he couldn't speak to the nature of their trust, but the Nott's, Draco knew the Nott's since he was a boy. Theodore Sr was a hard man to please, not one to open up even amongst his closest confidants. His wife had died when Theo Jr was young and since then he never opened up to anyone and his estate wards reflected that. No one besides someone who shared Nott blood could even get close to the estate let alone make it all the way into his personal study. Theo was different from his father but shared the same privacy habits has him. Sure Theo could work a room with charm to rival Draco's but when it came to his personal life he let very few people in. He rarely opened up about his family relations, only that he and his father butt heads on the regular. That was one of the things they bonded over at school. He heard Granger approach, her boots sloshing through the wet grass. God she had no stealth ability. 

"Wards are intact. Not even a sign of any attempts at tampering." He sighed as she crouched beside him. She ran a finger along the invisible property line. 

"The next of kin will be here this afternoon, but I'm not hopeful, she's a distant aunt of Theodore Sr and hasn't been in touch in years." Granger paused as her hand grew close to his but he didn't pull his hand away. He studied her fingers as they circled around a spot in the grass. She picked at her cuticles. "Are you okay?" She asks. He could feel her eyes on him but he refused to meet them. Draco scoffed.

"Yeah just peachy. One of my only friends was murdered right under my nose. Never been better." He said icily. He knew he shouldn't take this out on her but he couldn't help it. He could feel it pulsing beneath his skin and her presence only seemed to aggravate his temper. "Why don't you go bore a tech with your sappy questions." he said turning away. "Ah perfect, Weasley, just your speed, Granger needs a pathetic little shoulder to cry on." Draco said striding away. He could feel his temper rising again. He glanced back to see Weasley with his hand on Granger's shoulder and he felt his anger surge again which only confused him. He didn't care about Granger, much less who she was close to, but she was so much better than that half wit. He needed to clear his mind. He stopped the tech with the tea cup remains. "Send those to my desk, I'll do the potion analysis myself." he spat. The tech scurried away and Draco took one last look at the house before making his way back to the apparition point. He wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

Hermione clenched her fists as she watch Malfoy walk back toward the house. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to suppress her growing annoyance. He'd just lost a friend, he deserved some compassion. 

"I saw you over here with Malfoy alone, I came to check on you." Ron said taking a step towards her and rubbing her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Hermione sighed. Ever since the break up Ron made every excuse to be close to her. They'd remained friends, but Hermione knew if she ever gave him an inch, he would take a mile. 

"He's my partner Ron, we are alone quite frequently." She said. "But thank you for checking on me. You're a good friend." She smiled up at him. Ron smiled sadly back at her.

"Of course, its my job to look after you 'Mione." He said dropping his hand from her shoulder. "With all this going on, I worry about you." He waved his hand, gesturing to the scene around them. Along with other factors, Hermione broke off her engagement to Ron because he was so overbearing when it came to work. After he was rejected from the Auror Training Academy, he insisted on working as a tech on all the cases she worked. Always keeping an eye on her no matter how much she assured him she was being safe. Being an Auror wasn't exactly as safe as a desk job but it was her passion, and that ultimately took priority over her relationship. Ron took it hard but promised to stay friends, which Hermione now realized was an attempt to retain control on her. The war had changed everyone. 

"I should get back to the office, there is significantly more evidence to process from this crime scene so I'm hopeful to find at least one viable lead before the night is over." Hermione said giving Ron one more smile before making her way to the apparition point. They were bringing the bodies out from the house when Hermione noticed something white and red sticking out of Theodore Jr's pocket. "Wait! Wait a minute!" She called out and the techs moving the bodies paused. It was a small piece of parchment. She reached over to tug it out of his pocket but the stasis charm held it firm in place. She pulled her hand away, her fingers stained with blood. She could barely make out the letters "amo" in blood. "Did SI Malfoy see this?" She asked, but the tech just shrugged his shoulders. "Alright get them back to the Ministry and get the Curse-Breakers started as soon as possible, I will meet them there." She said turning back to the apparition point. She tried not to get her hopes up, but it was hard when they'd had nothing to go on until now. She only hoped they could catch the killer before anyone else had to suffer. She closed her eyes and pictured Malfoy's pained expression. "Before anyone else had to suffer." She said out loud, and apparated. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 – Ink Bleeds

Hermione’s quill hovered above the parchment, but the words refused to come. The official report demanded neat, detached language: cause of death, scene observations, magical signatures. What she wanted to write was the truth. That it was barbaric. That the Nott estate reeked of fear and spilled legacy, the walls trembling with a silence so heavy it pressed on her lungs.

“Granger.”

She blinked up. Malfoy was standing over her desk, his face paler than usual, a faint twitch at his jaw. He had refused to go home after the Nott scene, refused Shacklbolt’s order to rest. Now, a sealed evidence bag was clenched in his hand.

“What is it?” she asked, rising. Malfoy set the bag down carefully, as though it might bite. Inside was a single torn scrap of parchment, ink smudged along the edges.

“The Curse-Breakers neutralized the stasis charm, this note was found in Theo’s pocket, its written in blood.” he said, voice low. Hermione cast a quick preservative charm and slit the seal. The parchment slid free with a whisper. She unfolded it slowly, the fibers brittle, the words etched in hurried, jagged strokes.

“Among the rot, the taint runs in the blood. Among the unworthy, purge the lines. Among the pure, only the worthy shall endure.”

Hermione’s stomach tightened. The words swam before her eyes, dark and deliberate. “Blood,” she whispered. “It’s about blood.”

Malfoy crossed his arms, shoulders taut. “He’s targeting families based on status.”

Hermione tapped the parchment with her wand, the faint shimmer of residual magic pulsing in response. “It isn’t random. The Selwyns. The Notts. Old families, pure-blood dynasties."

“And what? He’s punishing them? For centuries of superiority?” Malfoy’s voice cracked, sharp and unguarded.

Hermione studied him, noting the flicker of raw anger under his composure. “It could be ideology. Or revenge. Or both.”

Malfoy scoffed bitterly. “How poetic. Kill the so-called untouchables to make a point about blood. My friends, my family…” He broke off, pressing his palms flat to the desk.

Hermione softened, though her mind spun with possibilities. “It’s not just cruelty. He’s constructing a pattern. A manifesto.”

She held the note up to the lamplight. The ink shimmered oddly, catching green. “And there’s enchantment woven into the words. Not just ink. Blood magic." Malfoy stilled, his face unreadable. “Which means,” Hermione continued, “that this isn’t just a murderer with a grudge. It’s someone with access to knowledge most witches and wizards wouldn’t dare to touch. Someone trying to send a message that will echo.” The parchment hummed faintly in her hands, as if alive, the words burning brighter under the light. Malfoy’s eyes met hers. “And if blood is the message, then the list of targets just became very, very small.”

Hermione offered the note to Malfoy to examine, but the moment his fingers touched the parchment he pulled his hand back with a hiss. "It burned me." He said examining his hand. Hermione dropped the note on the table. A large angry blister was forming on Malfoy's hand where the parchment touched. "It didn't burn you?" He said glancing at her hands. Hermione shook her head. She picked up the note again. Not even a tingle. 

"That's strange. Who extracted this from the body?" Hermione said pulling her wand out. Malfoy shrugged.

"Some tech in Blood Anaylsis I don't know, I'm still waiting on the report. " Malfoy said opening the evidence bag and holding it out to her. "Until we figure out why, I don't think you should be touching it regardless." Hermione nodded and returned the note to the plastic sleeve. 

"Let's go down to the lab and see where they are at on that. Knowing who's blood this is could tell us who the killer is." Hermione said grabbing her coat.

The Blood Analysis Lab was located in the Curse Breaker department of the DMLE and heavily temperature controlled. Dennis Creevey was the head tech that processed blood for identification. Draco had only interacted with him a handful of times and he seemed nice enough, but he was odd. His fascination with blood stemmed beyond that of his normal occupational interest, he was almost entranced by it at times. Creevey was hunched over a blood slide when Draco and Granger approached.

"Hello Dennis, do you have an update on the note from the Nott case?" Granger said holding up the evidence sleeve. Creevey jumped, knocking over a beaker of something that smelled like the underside of a boot. Draco wrinkled his nose. "My apologies, we didn't mean to startle you." She said taking a step back as the liquid leaked across the floor. 

"I am so sorry Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy I was completely engrossed in my work, I didn't hear you come in. Uh, yes I was working on that just now actually. You see, when we attempt to identify a blood sample its not exactly the DNA we look at, but the magical signature attached to it. Each witch or wizard has a distinct magical pattern woven into their DNA that can help us link together bloodlines." Creevey levitated the slide over to Draco and Granger. "I extracted this sample from a clot left on the corner of the note found at the crime scene and after extracting the DNA and breaking down the curse tied to the blood I was able to reveal the magical signature. Resonaire Revelio" Creevey waved his wand over the side and faint gold traces began to emerge from the unintelligible sample on the slide. "Ah good. Now I come here," Creevey said walking towards the door to the left of his desk and opened it. A room full of floor to ceiling cases magically lit up before them. 

"What is this place?" Draco said pulling open one of the cases, inside were hundreds of little slides exactly like the one floating in front of Creevey. 

"This is the record room, were we store a sample of blood for each person the Ministry has obtained, and if we are lucky, this sample will call to its twin." Creevey said levitated the slide farther out and whispering, "Vocare Sanguis." For a moment, nothing happened. Then with a faint tingling a case down the third aisle shot open, a single glass slide shot toward them stopping right next to the slide in front of them. "Looks like we are in luck." The two slides began to glow green. He reached up and took them both. "Now lets see who your killer is." Creevey's smile faded as he looked up at Granger and Draco. He swallowed hard. 

"What is it?" Granger said shaking her head. "Who is it?" She took a step forward but Creevey stepped back. 

"Maybe I ought to take this to Kingsley instead, you shouldn't be down here." Creevey said stepping around Granger, and stepped toward the door. Draco rolled his eyes and stuck his arm out clotheslining him. Creevey fell hard and looked up in fear at Draco. He didn't have time for this. He reached down and after wrestling it from his grasp he stood to read the name. He lifted his eyes to Granger in a scowl. 

"Malfoy what is it? What is going on?" Granger said taking another step towards them. 

"That's funny, I was just going to ask you the same question." Draco said holding the slide up so it was inches from her face. Granger leaned back slightly and all the blood drained from her face as she read the name. 

"Hermione Jean Granger"